Mumbai: The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index rose marginally to 11.91 per cent during the week ended 5 July from 11.89 during the previous week even as the government admitted that the pressure on prices will continue for some time.

While inflation on a week-on-week basis has stabilised, it is more than double the rate of around 4.61 per cent during the comparable period of the previous year.
 
The spike was mainly due to a rise in the prices of food items, including pulses, atta, tea, fruits, as also some petroleum products like fuel, data released by the government showed.

Describing the increase in inflation as ''very marginal,'' the finance ministry in a statement said ''the annual inflation rate for the group of 30 essential commodities has declined to 5.74 from 5.98 per cent reported for the week ending 28 June."

Prices of essential commodities like food grains, pulses, edible oils, vegetable, dairy products and some other commodities, including kerosene, soap and safety matches, have more or less stabilised, the ministry said in a statement.

Out of 98 primary articles, 13 have shown decline in prices and 57 have shown no increase in prices.

During the week, prices of tea increased by two per cent, while masur and moong became expensive by one per cent each.

In the manufactured category, 281 of total 320 commodities have shown no rise in prices, while prices declined in case of 12 commodities. Products like rice bran oil and maida became expensive by two per cent each, atta, coconut oil and imported edible oil were dearer by one per cent each.

Elsewhere, steel ingots became dearer by 21 per cent, bright bars by 10 per cent, pig iron by 5 per cent, bars and rods by 2 per cent and steel sheet and plates by 1 per cent.

The marginal increase in inflation has been attributed to higher prices of some of the petroleum products like naphtha which went up by eight per cent, light diesel oil (seven per cent) and aviation turbine fuel (five per cent). Prices of cooking gas, however, declined by five per cent.

As per the revised data inflation rate for the week ended 10 May has been updated to 8.57 per cent as against 7.82 per cent reported earlier.
 
The continued rise in prices could prompt a further tightening of RBI's monetary policy. The central bank will announce its quarterly review of the monetary policy on 29 July.

RBI had on 24 June increased its short term lending rate - repo rate - and the mandatory cash reserve ratio for banks by 50 basis points each to check price rise.